World's Apart
by CSISaraSidle72
Summary: Rose has survived the sinking, without Jack, but she knows her life must go on and with it, a choice that'll not only save her life, but the life of another, with the help of a good friend.


I know this has been done before. Heck, I think I even wrote this exact same story in 1998, but it's been too long, that I'm not quite sure. Either way, I'm writing it again, and I hope everyone likes it.

This is set when Rose is on the Carpathia, giving her name.

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><p>"May I have your name please, love?"<p>

Rose was shaken out of her reverie. At first, she didn't know who was speaking to her until a face of a kind man formed in her line of vision. She finally looked at him, blinking as she thought hard. She had almost been spotted by Cal earlier in the day, and if her real name was placed on that list, she just knew she'd never be able to get away, again.

Taking in a deep breath, she replied. "Dawson." Looking up at that night sky, her vision was obscured by rain, but not so much that she saw the Statue of Liberty looming overhead. "Rose Dawson."

"Thank you," he said, as he moved on to the next passenger. Rose continued to gaze at the statue, in all its magnificence, when she heard whimpering nearby. Slowly, she walked over to a bench, but it was what was underneath that caught her attention: a little girl, holding fiercely to a bedraggled doll, who was dressed in an old blouse and plaid skirt, that matched her tattered hair ribbon. Ripped stockings were all that covered her near-bare legs, and old boots on her feet, that looked like they'd seen better days, many years before.

But it was mainly the hair that caught Roses' attention. Long, brown locks that were wavy, very unlike the tight locks that she'd had at that girl's age, and those brown eyes. She remembered them distinctly on the night before the Titanic hit the iceberg, when she'd been down in Steerage, having the most fun she'd ever had in her whole life. Well, the most fun she'd had since her father had died, anyways.

Rose bent down, kneeling in front of the little girl as she heard Jack's words, addressed to that little girl on the night she'd been at the party. _"You're still my best girl, Cora."_

"You're Cora...right?"

The girl looked up at her, quickly drying her face from her fit of tears. She looked up at Rose, squinting her eyes, almost as if she was trying to remember, trying to draw out information from her head that seemed to be misplaced.

Finally, after a few moments, she smiled. "Rose." Then she jumped up and hugged Rose as fiercely and as protective as she'd been hugging her doll several minutes before. Then, the crying came again as Rose returned her hug. It was then that everything spilled out. "Oh, Rose...my papa's gone. They're gonna send me to an orphanage!"

Rose felt tears spring to her eyes, as well, as she hugged the girl back. Even though she never thought of herself as one to raise a child, she knew that Jack would want her to. He'd shown so much care for this child while they were together, and now, as she knelt to the ground, hugging this little girl, she knew that she cared for her, as well.

Rose pulled back, looking Cora into the eyes. "That won't happen, Cora. I won't let it." As she said that she saw the man, a crew member on the Carpathia, come towards them. He smiled kindly at Rose, but then turned his attention to the heavyhearted child in front of him. "Name, please."

Cora looked stricken as she searched for what to say. The man kept peering at her, almost with cold eyes, and it was then that she started crying, once more.

The man shook his head, going to write something on the list when Rose stood up. "Please, sir," she whispered to him. "She's my child. She's only crying because she couldn't find me, before." She leaned in, thinking of Jack as she spoke her next words. "Her father died in the sinking, and she's...not handling it, well. She knows I'm alive, but sometimes she forgets."

The man looked, at first, as if he didn't believe her, but as he allowed her words to sink in, he nodded in understanding. "I see. I'm sorry, Ma'am." He looked back at his list, then back at Rose. "What is her name?" He knew he'd be able to get more from her mother, who seemed so composed, then from the child, who was curled up on a bench, hugging her doll.

Rose looked over, smiling at her before turning back to the man. "Dawson. Cora Dawson." Rose sneaked a peek at Cora, and could've sworn that she saw her smile.

The man wrote the name down and nodded at Rose. "Thank you," he said kindly, before returning to work, moving on to the next passenger.

Rose walked over to Cora and sat, putting an arm around her. Cora snuggled into her, laying her head in Rose's lap as the night rain began to let up.

Rose smiled sadly as she ran her hand through Cora's hair. "Well, it looks like it's just you and I, Cora."

Cora nodded sadly, knowing for certain that Jack had not survived the sinking. She snuggled closer to Rose, not knowing what she would've done without this woman's kindness. She'd never met her own mother, who'd died giving birth to her. But now, by some strange set of circumstances, she had a mother. She knew in her heart that Rose cared for her, or she'd never said she was her daughter. But she wondered if Rose, beautiful first-class Rose, knew what it was like to care for a poor child.

But then Cora also knew that Rose had chosen to be in Steerage—maybe because of Jack, maybe because of her family. Whatever the reason, that reason had a purpose, and together they'd find it.

And as Rose hugged little Cora, they both fell asleep, wondering of what, if anything, this new life would bring them.

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><p>So...let me know if you like it and if I should continue. I had fun writing this story...again, even though I know I did a better job of it, now, then I had when I was thirteen.<p>

~*Missy*~


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